2017 was a year of discovery for me. I learned a lot about myself, grew as a person, but more importantly I discovered what would become my favorite black metal band of all time, Der Weg einer Freiheit and their album Finisterre. I absolutely devoured this album, spinning it again and again, letting the furious songs envelop me. Der Weg einer Freiheit’s combination of ferocity and melancholy was exactly what I was looking for, and although I am no longer the same person I once was, I still look to them for a blend that no other band can provide. They’ve had quite the evolution in sound, beginning as more of a no-nonsense black metal band on their debut self-titled and EP Agonie, then on sophomore effort Unstille, they began experimenting with adding post metal elements into the mix. It wasn’t until third full-length Stellar that the post metal elements would be fully realized, and then fourth album Finisterre, a masterclass of furious black metal combined with melancholic post metal would follow two years later.
There was a longer break between Finisterre and fifth album Noktvrn, the world shut down, and Der Weg einer Freiheit decided to take more risks on Noktvrn. They enlisted the help of Dávid Makó (The Devil’s Trade) on “Immortal,” and while I enjoyed Noktvrn at the time, and still enjoy it, I return to it less than the other albums. It didn’t quite meet the mark I wanted, but then when Innern was announced, I was excited. Lead single “Eos” felt like a combination of the best parts of Stellar and Finisterre, and I knew that Innern would be something special. I wasn’t wrong, because Innern is quite easily the best thing I’ve listened to this year, and the best thing I’ve listened to since 2021.
Part of what makes Innern so great is how it’s presented. Across six songs, it essentially feels like two completely different EPs that have seamlessly blended together. The first three songs are exactly what makes Der Weg einer Freiheit unique — furious black metal that doesn’t let up, propelled especially by one of the best drummers in the business: Tobias Schuler. This man is a machine when it comes to the drums, and has consistently delivered top-notch performances on everything Der Weg einer Freiheit have released. Each of these tracks have long, drawn out build-ups before a final explosion of cathartic sadness.
However, Innern’s back half is where Der Weg einer Freiheit went back to their more experimental side. While normally I would shake my fist at an interlude on a six track album, “Finisterre III” is a beautiful piano interlude between “Fragment,” a mostly-sung post-metal heavy track and closer “Forlorn.” “Fragment” is an introspective piece featuring Nikita Kamprad’s wonderful clean vocals before culminating into another explosive climax at the end, all of the anger from earlier not lost.
But it’s “Forlorn,” the closer, that I come back to the most. I never knew how much I wanted Der Weg einer Freiheit to mix post-punk and black metal until I heard this for the first time, and it’s the song that has been the soundtrack for me throughout this turbulent year. I could replay this song a hundred times and never get tired of it. “Forlorn” is genius-level genre integration, and plays on Der Weg einer Freiheit’s strengths to create a closer that’s one of the greatest songs they’ve ever written. The song is a moodier piece, entirely in English, and has the best build-up from a grooving bass line into a section of black metal assault I’ve ever heard. Innern ends with beautiful synths ebbing and flowing away, and all I want to do is listen again. It helps that Innern is produced wonderfully, done solely by Nikita Kamprad, creating a lush, warm tone throughout the record.
Innern is comfort food black metal. I can pick this up whenever I want and everything will be okay. This is exactly what I wanted Der Weg einer Freiheit to release, and I will continue listening to this album each and every year that follows this one. If you skip Innern, you are depriving yourself of one of the most magnificent albums you will ever have the pleasure of listening to. This is a flawless album, and is no doubt in my mind my album of the year, and no one will ever play black metal better than these guys. Thank you, Der Weg einer Freiheit.
